Power Rankings

As the regular season winds down the Kings are finding ways to win despite losing their top two scorers recently. The Los Angeles Kings have had their share of ups and downs this year and despite having their top two scorers sidelined late in the season, they’re still on course for a playoff berth and a top-10 spot in THN.

The Washington Capitals have hit a high at the right time of year as they make a run for top spot in the East and in our weekly rankings. The Washington Capitals weren’t ready for their HBO close-up in the middle of the 2010-11 NHL campaign, but they’re firing on all pistons as the regular season draws to a close and nearing the very top of the THN.

With just eight games left in the regular season, Ilya Bryzgalov and the Coyotes are fighting to remain a playoff contender. It is a measure of how tough the Western Conference playoff race is when the Phoenix Coyotes - who have won six of their past 10 games - can be three points behind Pacific Division-leading San Jose, yet be just four points ahead of ninth-place Dallas.

As the playoffs near, Washington and San Jose are hitting a high, but there's still no doubting which team is the one to beat. Two teams wrapped with the stigma of underachieving at the most important time of the year have caught fire and are coming on strong after letting off the gas a little during the regular season.

There's a new team atop our weekly rankings, but the New Jersey Devils are also gradually making their way up. In one of the biggest comebacks the NHL has seen in the post-lockout era, the New Jersey Devils have rebounded from virtual irrelevance and clawed (a) back within shouting distance of a playoff berth; and (b) further up the THN.

With help from familiar - and not so familiar - faces the Sharks jump from ninth to sixth in our weekly rankings. Some people laughed when San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson acquired Kyle Wellwood and Ben Eager in mid-January. But since then, the joke has been on the Sharks’ opponents and those who believed San Jose couldn’t make a big move up the weekly THN.

The Ducks streak puts them in a prominent spot in our weekly rankings, but it's a familiar team on top again. Nobody picked the Anaheim Ducks to win their own division this season, let alone be challenging for home ice advantage in the playoffs. But they’re doing both those things, as well as moving up the THN.

Riding the hot play of Carey Price, Montreal climbing up the standings and THN's weekly power rankings. For the second straight season, the Montreal Canadiens are reaping the rewards that come with having a white-hot goalie, only this time, it’s Carey Price (who is making a case for team, if not league MVP) in the regular season and not Jaroslav Halak in the playoffs.

In our weekly team rankings, the top three look familiar, while the Bruins are being aided by Zdeno Chara's strong play. Zdeno Chara was one of the biggest draws of the NHL’s 2011 all-star weekend and he’s also a huge reason the Boston Bruins remain in the top 10 of THN.

The Dallas Stars have been a surprise all season long, so it probably shouldn't be a shock to see them in the top five in our weekly rundown. With just two regulation losses in their past 10 games, the Dallas Stars are serving notice that the first half of their season was no accident – and that they’ll remain near the top of the THN Power Rankings for some time to come.

The Carolina Hurricanes recent run see them jump six spots in our weekly rankings, but it's the Vancouver Canucks still on top. The Carolina Hurricanes currently are sitting outside of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but if they keep playing the way they have of late, they’ll continue to rise up the standings – and the THN Power Rankings as well.

Nashville jumps a few spots thanks to a winning streak, while the Canucks take over No. 1. The Nashville Predators have been a consistent team over the years, but they’re having some serious mood swings this season.
The Preds are currently riding a five-game winning streak, which will shoot you up the incredibly compact Western Conference standings in a hurry.